Drapery support



July 3, 1951 c. F. HASSELWANDER DRAPERY SUPPORT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledNOV. 13, 1948 I I I mm H I mW H H WW I H WI I I I n n w mfi n lmwm hfl lnn u mfiw INVENTOR. OLAUIDE 1-. HASSELWANDER nfinlniililllt July 3, 1951c. F. HASSELWANDER DRAPERY SUPPORT 2 Sheets-Sheet, 2

Filed Nov. 13, 1948 INVEN TOR. CLAUDE E HASSELWANDER ATTORNEY PatentedJuly 3, 19I

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE? DRAPERY SUPPORT Claude F. Hasselwander,Rochester, N. Y., as-

signor to Taylorvshantz, Inc., Rochester, N. Y-., a corporation of NewYork Application November 13, 1948, Serial No. 59,886

3 Claims. 1-.

The present invention relates to supports or hangers for curtains ordraperies.

For decorative effect, a drapery is hung in plaits or folds. The draperymay be gathered into plaitsor folds after it is hung, but unless this isdone by an expert, the-plaits will not be uniform or artisticallyarranged. For this reason draperies are usually pre-plaited by formingthe material into plait form and sewing the plaits in place beforehanging the drapery. This is expensive because it requires -a tailor orseamstress experienced in this field to plait the drapery properly.Moreover, these pre-plaited draperies are diflicult to clean, withoutremoving the stitching, and that requires that the drapery, berestitched into plaits again after cleaning.

For all of these reasons, drapery supports have been devised which areadapted to form and hold draperies in uniform plaits or folds whensuspended from them. Such drapery supports of this nature, of which I amaware, however, are rigid in form and are shaped to hold draperies orcurtains only in folded. position. It is impossible, when a drapery orcurtain is suspended from .one of these supports, to draw the drapery orcurtain closed across the Window or opening in connection withwhichthedrapery or curtain is being used.

A primary object of this invention is to provide a drapery or. curtainsupport which may be I opened or closed, and from which a drapery orcurtain. will be suspended in uniform plaits or folds, when thesupport'is in open position, and which, when closed, will stretch thecurtain or drapery across the. window or doorway opening over which itis hung.

A further objectof, the invention is to provide a drapery or curtainsupport of the character described which is soconstructed that thedrapery or curtain will automatically be formed into uniform plaits orfolds,..without any pre-stitchingfor thatpurpose, when the support is inopen position.

Another object of the invention is to provide asupportof this characterwhich is adjustable to various positions andwhich is..so constructedthat a drapery or curtain will hang thereon in uniform, artisticplaitsorfolds in any adjusted position of the support.

Another object of the invention is to provide a drapery or curtainsupport ofthe character described whichis so constructed thatthe draperyor. curtain may readily beremoved therefrom for cleaning.

A.further object of theinventionis to provide 5 a support of thecharacter described which may be manufactured atrelatively low cost, butwhich may be made of. materials that will last indefinitely.

Other objects ofthe invention will be apparent hereinafter from thespecification and from the recital of the append'edclaims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a drapery support made according to oneembodiment of this invention and comprising a pair or set of draperyholders, one of said holders having a drapery suspended therefrom;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 1, with the upperportion of the channel member or trackway, on which the drapery holdersmove, broken away to show the carriages or trollies for the draperyholders;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view, of the drapery support showing thedrapery holders in closed position;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the support, looking from the front andshowing the channel or trackway fragmentarily and one of the draperyholders in its fully open position;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the support looking from thefront and showing this drapery holder closed and showing how in closedposition it overlaps the adjacent end of the other drapery holder;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view looking from the rear atthe pair or set ofdrapery holders in closed position, the channel or trackway being.removed in order better to illustrate the construction; and

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view taken, for instance, on the line l'!of Fig. 5.

In the illustrated embodiment of my invention, there is provided achannel member [0, which is adapted to be secured to the frame of, thewindow or. door on which the drapery or ourtain. is to be hung. Thismember may be stamped out of a singlepiece of sheet metal, folded uponitselfi'at top and bottom, asv denoted at H and 12 (Fig. '7), andshapedstohave a downturned. flange l4-and an upturned flange l5. at itsfront. The folded. portions II and I2 of the channel member reinforcethis member and separate it into two compartments I o and I1 -(Figs. 4,5.and '7) For supporting a draperyorcurtain, ordinarily there are a pairof draperyeholders provided, one for each of a pair of draperies orcurtains. These drapery holders are generally similar in construction.Each comprises a plurality of flat spacer plates 20 which are connectedto one another by loop or plait-forming members comprising a pair ofstraps 22 and 23. Each member 22 is hingedly connectedat its inner endby means of a hinge pin 24 to one of the spacer plates 20, and eachmember 23 is hingedly connected at its inner end by means of a hinge pin25 to the next adjacent spacer plate 20. The two members 22 and 23,whichmay be called shaper members, are hingedly connected at their outerends by a hinge pin 26. The members 22 and 23 are made of spring metaland each is slightly bowed outwardly so that when a pair is in loopedposition, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, adjacent members 22, 23 willproject toward one another well over the intermediate plate 20, beingthus under compression.

There are two studs 21 secured to each plate 20. These studs serve asjournals for wheels 30 (Figs. 6 and 7). The studs project forwardlythrough the opening between the upper and lower flanges l4 and I of thechannel member ID and are riveted to the plates 20. Spacers or washers3| are mounted on the studs properly to space the plates 20 from thefront face of the channel member and from the wheels 30. Each pair ofstuds is riveted at the rear to a cord guide-plate 32. These plates seatagainst shoulders 33 formed on the studs. The upper and lower insidesurfaces of the compartment I! of the channel member form trackways onwhich the wheels 30 are adapted to roll. A plate 20, a plate 32, and theassociated pair of wheels 30 form a carriage or trolley. When adjacentcarriages or trolleys are moved toward one another, cooperating bowedplates 22 and 23 are folded, as shown in Figs; 2 and 4, and whenadjacent carriages or trolleys are moved apart cooperating bowed plates22 and 23 may be extended as shown in Figs. 3 and 5.

Each member 32 is generally U-shaped and has rearwardly projecting wings34. Each wing 34 is drilled at top and bottom to form two guide holes 35through which the control cord 36 extends.

The control cord 36 may be an endless cord. It is adapted to be trainedover a pulley 31 (Fig. 1) through the lower holes 35 in the wings 34 ofthe plates 32 of the pair of drapery holders, around a pulley 38(Fig. 1) at the extreme right of the right hand drapery holder, throughthe upper holes 35 in the wings 34 of the plates 32, and around a pulley39 at the extreme left of the left hand drapery holder. The pulleys 31and 39 are suitably journaled on shafts 46 in a bracket 42 thatissecured at the left hand end of the channel member Ill. The pulley 28'is suitably journaled in a bracket 43 that is secured to the channelmember ID at the right hand end thereof.. V

The guide cord 36 has knots 46 and 41 (Fig. 6) tied in it at the rightand left hand sides, respectively, of the left hand wing of the plate 32which is secured to plate 20a. It has knots 48 and 49 tied in it at theright and left hand sides, respectively, of the right hand wing of theplate 32, which is secured to plate 201). By pulling on the right handpart of the downwardly extending portion of cord 36 (Fig. 1), then, thetwo sections of the drapery holder can be pulled toward one another,flattening out the loops 22 and 23 from the positions shown in Figs. 1and 2 to that of Fig.3. By pulling on the left hand part of thedownwardly dropping 'cord, on the other hand, these members can beformed into loops again. Because the loop members 22 and 23 are made ofspring metal, when one of the plates 20 is moved either to spread or tolooped position the movement is passed on successively to the otherplates and through them to the other loop members; and so the movementof one loop member of a section tends to move all the rest of thatsection.

As previously-stated, the two drapery holders of a set are substantiallyalike. The principal difference between them is in their adjacent spacerplates 20. These plates are denoted at 20a and 2022, respectively, forthe right and left hand drapery holders. The plate 20a is provided withan offset portion 45 (Fig. 5) which is adapted to overlap andlie infront of the right hand end of plate 20b when the drapery holders are inclosed position. This permits complete closure of the drapery supportwithout leaving any ugly gap between the holders.

The spacer plates 20 at the right and left hand ends of the right andleft hand drapery holders, respectively, which are designated 20c and20d, respectively, may be made somewhat longer than the intermediatespacer plates 20 to project over and cover the brackets 42 and 43,respectively. These plates are connected only at one end to the shapermembers, the plate 20c being connected at its left hand side to a shapermember 23 and the plate 26d being connected to ashaper member 22. Theplates 20c and 20d are secured to the brackets 43 and 42 and are held infixed position. The plates 20a and 20b likewise are connected at onlyone end to the shaper members. Thus, the plate 26a is connected at itsright end to a shaper member 22 and the plate 20b at its left end to ashaper member 23.

The drapery or curtain 50, which is to be hung, may be secured to theplates 20, 22 and 23 in conventional fashion, as by pins that aresecured in loops 52 that are stamped outwardly from these plates. InFig. 1, one section of a drapery or curtain is shown hung from the lefthand drapery or curtain holder.

One of the features of the drapery support of the present invention isthat whatever the position of the forming or loop members, the draperyor curtain, which is supported thereon, will hang in uniform, gracefulfolds. When the drapery holders are in the position shown in Figs. 1, 2and 4, the members 22 and 23 thereof form closed loops upon'which thesuspended draperies or curtains are formed in folds or plaits of uniformsize and shape, providing a very artistic, decorative appearance. Whenthe drapery holders are pulled to the position shown in Figs. 3 and 5,the draperies or curtains are closed over the window or door opening andare not entirely flat but again have uniform loop arrangement whichagain is very artistic and decorative. In all the infinite number ofintermediate positions to which the drapery holders can be moved bypulling on cord 36, this same uniformity of plaiting or looping will beobtained. Thus, the drapery or curtain when suspended from my supportwill at all times have an artistic and decorative arrangement and thehousewife need never worry about the appearance of her curtains ordraperies.

While the invention has been described in connection with a particularembodiment thereof, it is capable of further modification, and thisapplication is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations ofthe invention following, in general, the principles ofthe invention andincluding such departures from the present disclosure a as come withinknown or customary practice in the art to which the invention relatesand as may be applied to the essential features hereinbefore set forthand as fall within the scope of the invention or the limits of theappended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A support for curtains, draperies, and the like comprising atrackway, a plurality of spacer plates, rollers secured to the backs ofthe spacerplates to support the spacer-plates movably on the trackway infront of the trackway, forming members connecting adjacentspacer-plates, each of said forming members comprising a pair of springstraps, each of which is pivotally connected at one end to one end of aspacer-plate and which are pivotally connected at their opposite ends toone another, said straps being shaped to be bowed outwardly away fromone another when adjacent spacer plates are moved toward one another,and means for moving the spacer plates toward or from one another.

2. A support for curtains, draperies, and the like comprising atrackway, and two separate fabric holders, each of said fabric holderscomprising a plurality of rigid, longitudinally spaced spacer plates,rollers secured to the spacer-plates to support the spacer-platesmovably on the trackway, and a plurality of flexible forming members,each of which is pivotally connected at its free ends to two adjacentspacer-plates, and means connecting the spacer-plates of the two fabricholders, said last named means being movable to move a spacer-plate ofone fabric holder toward or from a spacer-plate of the other fabricholder to expand or contract the forming members of the two fabricholders,

3. A support for curtains, draperies, and the like comprising atrackway, and two separate fabric holders, each of said fabric holdersconiprising a plurality of rigid, longitudinally spaced spacer plates,rollers secured to the backs of the spacer-plates to project from thebacks thereof to support the spacer-plates movably in front of thetrackway, and forming members connecting adjacent spacer plates, each ofsaid forming members comprising a pair of spring straps, each of whichis pivotally connected at one end to one of two adjacent spacer platesand which are pivotally connected at their opposite ends to one another,said straps being shaped to be bowed outwardly away from one anotherwhen adja-- cent spacer plates are moved toward one another, and adrawcord operatively connected to one spacer plate of each of the twodrapery holders to move the drapery holders toward or from one anotherwhen the drawcord is moved in one direction or the other, the twoadjacent spacer plates of the two drapery holders having portions whichare offset relative to one another to overlap when the spacer plates aremoved to the full extent toward one another.

CLAUDE F. HASSELWANDER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 661,608 Holtzclaw Nov. 13, 1900978,219 Sarkisian Dec. 13, 1910 1,756,365 Kirsch Apr. 29, 1930 1,973,487Kenney et al Sept. 11, 1934 2,366,986 Siden Jan. 9, 1945 2,388,061Isserstedt Oct. 30, 1945 2,512,736 Brenner et al June 27, 1950

